This Village In Jharkhand Has Given A Bizarre Meaning To The Term 'Cyber Zone'

Welcome to Binsmi, home to 900 online crooks.

What comes to your mind when you hear the term 'cyber zone'? A digitally evolved zone? An area equipped with the latest technology? In Giridih, Jharkhand, it means something altogether different.

The title 'Cyber Zone' has been conferred on Giridih not because of a digital revolution there but because of the expertise of its residents in cyber crime.

A report in The Times Of India says the village of Binsmi in the district, which has 1,000 houses, is home to 900 cyber crooks.

Recently, cyber cell officials of the Ahmedabad crime branch, acting presumably on a tip, paid a visit to Giridih, Deogarh and Jamtara to fish out a master scamster called Mohammad Jilani Ansari.

But the cops were hardly prepared for what waited for them.

When they reached Binsmi from Ahmedabad for a 'top-secret mission', they were taken aback as a member of the Jharkhand police asked them if they were looking for an online scamster. ""Cyber Zone mein aur kis ko khojoge? (Who else will you be looking for in Cyber Zone?)," was his next remark to the stunned officers.

A cyber cell official said that after they caught Ansari, they figured out that almost every house in the area had a cyber crook. There is a kingpin as well, called Tiku Mandal, who is operating this racket with a gang of 14.

According to TOI, Mohammad Jilani Ansari, who spilled the information about Mandal, has been duping people in Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and in his favourite haunt, Gujarat. He made around 200 calls a day and every 10-15 calls, he persuaded someone to reveal their ATM card and CVV numbers as well as the OTP. Ansari also has 34 e-wallets where he collects money from his victims' bank accounts.

How is it possible that no one has ever caught criminals like Ansari and let places like Giridih turn into such notorious 'Cyber Zones'?

TOI says nabbing these culprits is difficult because there are no cases registered against them. Officials are also concerned by the fact that these haunts are not far from Naxal-hit areas.